Divine Non-Attachment – A Lesson from a Nut Hatch

NOTE: This wonderful essay is written by Coreen Walson

I walked out onto my enclosed porch to find a Nut Hatch, a small bird native to Northern New Mexico, trapped within the screened off walls. This is nothing new and I usually can cup a bird in my hands and release them at the door. This bird however bounced off a wall and landed on the floor. I thought it might be injured and carefully scooped it up. I held it in my hands at the door, encouraging it to fly, letting it know it was safe and loved. Instead of flying away, the bird began to shudder and died in my hands. In my shock, I exclaimed, “No!” I began steadfastly declaring that all of God’s Creatures live in Him, that their lives are eternal and safe and perfect, that death is the illusion, that God’s will is already done, and that I could witness the correction as I knew the Truth. And the bird never moved again.

It was minutes before one of my online classes, and I felt very down. I couldn’t understand why that had happened. I questioned myself . . . “what did I do wrong?” Maybe I should have just opened the door and left well enough alone. It’s death is my fault. My prayer was so sincere, why wasn’t it answered? Why doesn’t God answer all prayers? The bird was so beautiful and innocent, this makes no sense.

I joined with those in my group and shared with them what had occurred. I also trusted that Holy Spirit would give us an Answer as He always does when we join together. And He did.

There is a consensus in many spiritual paths and teachers that while we know that the world is illusion, made up of thoughts and beliefs, we then simply allow all things to be as they are. We don’t try to change anything, we love everything as it is. If someone seems to be dying, we love them and accept them with what they seem to be going through, even while declaring that what we see with our physical senses is not true. If a person passes on, we offer a “celebration of Life” ceremony, knowing that the person has not really died and we can celebrate the good they brought to our lives while with us in a body. If there is lack, we just allow what is, while declaring that God is Abundance. It is a state of non-resistance to what we perceive with our body’s senses, yet knowing that in the Realm of the Absolute, only the Truth is true, and nothing else is.

Applying this to the bird, my senses reported that it may have suffered a heart attack in my hands and that it died. I can know the Truth that this bird lives on eternally as an idea in the Mind of God and that nothing has really occurred to it. I can get on about my day, not letting it bother me.

BUT WAIT A MINUTE!!! While that all feels good, and much better than lamenting the situation and going into guilt about it, it is not what our Master and Teacher would have done. Let’s look at what our Brother Jesus Christ would have done, and DID. His dear friend Lazarus was sick and dying. By the time Jesus reached Bethany where Lazarus lived, Lazarus had been in the tomb for four days. Now Jesus did not orchestrate a celebration of life ceremony. He didn’t merely declare that Life is God, without beginning or end, and then lay a rose at the door of the tomb. No! He commanded that Lazarus come forth, and Lazarus did.

Jesus healed the withered hand, healed the woman of her issue of blood that she had endured for many years, he healed the lame, the sick, the blind, the deaf, restored abundance where lack was boasting itself, restored sanity to the insane and raised the dead to life. He never made concessions to matter!

So, I asked during our session online if we could really join and ask Holy Spirit to reveal the Truth and bridge the gap between these two teachings, this practice of resistance versus demonstrations that contradict what the senses report. Was I to simply know that the bird’s life never ended despite the physical testimony, or was I called to raise it to life according to spiritual concepts?

As the members of the group began to speak and share, I heard this statement. “Divine Non-attachment is a pre-condition to the literal demonstration.” Hmmmmm. So, what IS divine, non-attachment exactly, and why must we practice it before we can heal the way Jesus did?

These ideas from A Course in Miracles began to be shared in the group. We as separate individuals never know what anything is FOR. We cannot, because we are basing what we think we know on an imaginary past. In other words, we think we know what something is for based on our past experience with it or something similar. We also do not know what anything IS. If we rely upon our physical senses to inform us, we will never know. This is because the physical senses were specifically designed NOT to be able to perceive or acknowledge Reality. They always report the upside down, inverted view of the Reality that is behind the false appearance.

“As you look with open eyes upon your world, it must occur to you that you have withdrawn into insanity. You see what is not there, and you hear what makes no sound. Your manifestations of emotions are the opposite of what the emotions are. You communicate with no one, and you are as isolated from reality as if you were alone in all the universe. In your madness you overlook reality completely, and you see only your own split mind everywhere you look. God calls you and you do not hear, for you are preoccupied with your own voice. And the vision of Christ is not in your sight, for you look upon yourself alone.” T-13.V.6.

We also cannot judge anything as good or bad. Our human opinions are completely inadequate to report Truth to us. Jesus is clear that if we are body identified and therefore believe we are separate from one another and God, we are seeing what isn’t really there, hearing sounds that have never been made, and living in an insane, made up world. Any opinions we have are founded on pure hallucinations, and obviously these cannot be trusted. Finally, we cannot outline what should occur. Because we don’t know what anything is or is for, whether it’s good or bad, helpful or unhelpful, we can conclude that we are incapable of determining how the issue should resolve or turn out.

Turning back to the bird scenario, I saw a trapped bird. I reasoned that I must save it. I determined how to do it. I saw it die. I determined that this was not okay. I assigned myself to saving this bird by resurrecting it. I failed and then I judged myself for the outcome. No wonder my prayer was not answered! All of “my” determinations of what was really happening, what is was for, how to solve the problem and that what I saw with my senses was terrible, were the literal blocks to entering into the Holy Instant, where, if Holy Spirit saw fit, would have raised the bird through my willingness.

As long as we believe that we are seeing something real in the world, that we understand it and therefore know what it is for, and then form opinions about how it should be handled, we are already three steps out from being anywhere NEAR the Holy Instant and accessible to God’s Will and His correction through Holy Spirit. All that we CAN do, is to recognize something as Love or a call for Love. Without believing our senses, we can then turn from the physical scene altogether. We refuse to judge anything or anyone, we refuse to make anything or anyone good or bad, we admit we don’t know what it is for. In this place of openness and receptivity, which is MEEKNESS, we access the Holy Instant and if it is right for anything to occur, it will happen THROUGH US, not BY us.

These are key components. Even Jesus declared that he of himself could do nothing but that the Father did the works through him. It is meekness in knowing that we have no power apart from God. We have no ability to know anything at all separate from His wisdom. There is no power but from God. We must in confidence surrender the “I know” mind altogether and refuse to think that we understand what the senses are reporting to us, no matter how compelling they seem.

This is the practice of divine, non-attachment. We don’t attach our definitions, our limited understanding, our past, our ability, or our opinions about what ought to be done in the situation. We allow the Divine Mind/Holy Spirit to inform us what something is for, as we need to know. We allow this Mind to tell us what to do, if It requires our assistance. We don’t presume to know what our Brother needs or what a situation is for. We trust this Mind to reveal to us our part if our part is necessary.

Only in this empty space can miracles take place through us. It is the surrender of the small self and a whole acknowledgment of the Presence and Power of God. In humility we admit we don’t know, and with joyous expectation and complete willingness, we allow our lives to attest our readiness to be used by Him if that is His Will.

I see the profound lesson this beautiful bird brought to me. I cannot begin to express the gratitude I feel, and also the comfort in knowing that I KNOW the bird is thriving. We will all be the living embodiment of the Holy Instant where literal demonstrations of physical miracles are made to the extent that we first practice this divine non-attachment and then live to Love and serve our God. This is the Christ, and it is the Christ that heals. – By Coreen Walson. You can join her online classes by contacting her here:https://takemetotruth.org/ttc/hosts/coreen/

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